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Notes - Dynamic Complexity and Resilience Thesis/ISR-G (view source)

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_These are notes for my thesis and independent study with Linda Vanasupa._

~~## collective vision and approaches~~

## Thesis thoughts

For more thoughts and the introduction, please follow this link to the [[Thesis outline - resilience and dynamic complexity]].

# The shift in our ontological understanding of nature

Coming from a century mainly driven by insights from the reductionist sciences and specialized disciplines, the western sciences look at the world around us (nature) by analyzing small pieces of the larger system. As in every reproducing organism, the increasing specialization in the natural sciences (e.g. subject specialization in master's degrees) is a reflection of the internal reductionist characteristic in the various disciplines. Therefore, we perceive nature as set of objects with different properties that can be analyzed, manipulated, and predicted. The relationship between different objects has only lately come into our focus. When we look at the relationships among the world around us, we observe that nature is an interconnected web, which does not prevail linear characteristics. Our science education from high school (chemistry, physics, mathematics) fails to give us an intuition for the complexity and characteristic of the interplay in nature. This issue brings up the following question:

What essential scientific understanding is needed for a technologist in a world that is fundamentally dynamically complex?

A _new_ science of holism is needed to convey an understanding of the world around us and all its layers; the natural, social, and critical epistemological realms. As this ontological shift is slowly taking place, we attempt to provide appropriate models, methods, language for phenomena, and threshold understandings that account for a dynamically complex world.

## Models for a holistic world

## Methods of study that respect the nature of reality

## Language for natural phenomena

## Threshold understandings of our current disciplines

### Biology - Autopoiesis as an example of reproduction of the internal characteristics, parts in a cell are only alive when in symbiosis with others. - The way we think about the world is not how we perceive the world with our senses. Our left half of the brain overwrites the sensory input and perception from our right side of the brain [^stroke-of-insight]. ### Physics - energy fields # Living and co-creating in community Our collective power lies in creativity. If we are meaningfully bonded through a collective aspiration and purpose, we can create long-lasting change and social innovation. Below are insights from the experimental Olin semester at Woodland Harvest Mountain farm and tips for a successful experience for students and mentors. ## collective vision and approaches for communal co-creation

~~Physics - energy fields~~ It seems to be crucial to uniting a group with a collective vision, goal, and purpose. If expectations are aligned, a satisfying group experience is much easier to achieve.

## Insights from fall 2020 semester

[^Holling2001]:Holling, C. S. (2001). Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems, 4(5), 390-405.

[^stroke-of-insight]: Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight | TED Talk. (n.d.). . Retrieved February 18, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_my_stroke_of_insight?language=en

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